Specialty Coffee News and Events from Around the World

April 12, 2009

New Harvest El Salvador Cupping

This week is the Specialty Coffee Association of America conference in Atlanta. I'll be there along with several hundred other coffee professionals.

So I wanted to get the word out sooner rather than later about an event that I will be hosting the week after the show, right here in New York City.

It's a tasting of top new coffees from El Salvador, from this year's (2008-09) harvest. These are coffees that you haven't tasted yet, unless you've been to El Salvador in the last couple of months.

In the winter, Ken Davids and Willem Boot did a blind evaluation of dozens of Salvadoran coffees. They sent me samples of the top scorers; and when I was in San Salvador last, in February, I was able to get 8 or 10 fresh-crop samples from the same farms that had done so well. Some of these farms are past Cup of Excellence winners, but many of them are getting special exposure like this for the first time. All of the coffees are top notch, all above 85, and several scoring well into the 90's.

It was a touch-and-go year in E.S. because of the weather, but the crop has really turned out well. Coffee professionals and the curious are invited to come taste them and learn a little about what to expect from this rich, beautiful coffee country in the next 12 months.

The wonderful people at Bodum have once again agreed to open up their lovely Chelsea showroom for our event. This is the same place where we held our Taste of Ethiopia event last year.